Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 2,820 Shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 188,830 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,820 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Chesapeake Energy were worth $14,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CHK. Prelude Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 100.2% during the first quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 10,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 6,175,883 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 15.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,196,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $974,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,281 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 3,273.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,462,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,016,000 after buying an additional 1,419,143 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 4,616.7% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,396,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,517,000 after buying an additional 1,367,131 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 1,578.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,243,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,199,000 after buying an additional 1,169,567 shares during the period. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CHK opened at $90.00 on Thursday. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $72.84 and a fifty-two week high of $91.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.04 and a 200-day moving average of $81.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a PE ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.52.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.89. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 6.74% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is 13.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on CHK shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark lowered their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Chesapeake Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Johnson Rice lowered Chesapeake Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.00.

Chesapeake Energy Profile

Chesapeake Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It engages in acquisition, exploration, and development of properties to produce oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs. The company holds interests in natural gas resource plays in the Marcellus Shale in the northern Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania and the Haynesville/Bossier Shales in northwestern Louisiana.